Maharaji in Atlanta PWK-034 2007-06-28

Maharaji at Atlanta June 28, 2007
True Wisdom PWK-034

Yes, Atlanta, we're here and here to talk about something very special. You know, so many of us in our lives go, okay, well, I'm going to go listen and maybe I will get some answers, because we all assume we know what the questions are. But in this path of existence, and I'm not saying life, in this path of existence, we know what the questions are. And if we know what the questions are, how are we to find the answers? And historically, historically, a tip, a clue has been given. Walk this walk, walk on this path with eyes wide open. You know where the answers will come from. You know when they will come. You know what they will be like. And you won't even know if you had a question that this answer belongs to.

Because what happens? Who are you? What are you? What is this all about? Now, there's a question hardly people ask, what is this all about? Here you are, well, here you are, congratulations, here you are, wonderful, great, incredible that you are, because once, you weren't, and once again, you won't be, but you are alive. And all your drama, all your trauma, all your ideas, all the things you like, all the things you like, all the things that happen in your life that you judge your life by are but a dream, just a dream, just a dream. For there is a reality that is so beautiful, so amazing, so incredible, that is in the middle of all these dreams, there's a place where you can truly be awake. And in that awakening, it is not bad, it is indeed very beautiful, incredible. Because in that awakening, there is no judgment. There aren't the issues of good and bad.

There aren't the issues of right and wrong and interest in that awakening that you are not being judged. There are no yardsticks, and there are no races, and there is nobody standing there with a checkered flag going, you won, or you lost, nothing of that kind, nothing. Just a beautiful reality that you are alive, that you have the ability to understand, that you have the ability to know, that you have the ability to admire. You know, look at your day, look at your day. What qualities, living in this world, what qualities of yours get used every single day? Let me backtrack a little bit. What are your qualities? Well, I'm not being judgmental, that's why I'm just labeling everything qualities. So you have the ability to get angry, you do. And you have the ability to be calm. You have the ability to be in turmoil. You have the ability to be in peace. These are all qualities that you have. Which qualities do you use the most in your life? I'll tell you, frustration, anger, disappointment.

These are the things, amongst others, that you use. Once in a while, under very special circumstances, you actually find yourself happy. And when you get happy, when you get happy, it is such a big deal, no, no, this is true, this is true, I'm not making this up. When you get happy, it is such a big deal that you will talk about it and remember it and think about it for years to come. And in fact, when you get older, your short-term memory goes bye-bye, and what you will be left with is these little segments of long-term memory going, God, I remember when I was there, and oh, that was so beautiful. What is this whole business of digital photography? Little cameras, cameras on the phone. So you can capture that little moment that was just wonderful. So you can remember it again and again and again because it was so far in between. I say to you that you have some other qualities.

And those qualities are to appreciate this existence, to truly be happy, happy as happy in timeless, camera not needed, special circumstances not required, that you can be happy, be in that joy that springs from your heart every single day. Most people in this world are trying to understand their mind, their mind. People have been trying to do that since an extremely, extremely long time. And they never will, because mind, your mind, is one step ahead of you. Make no mistake. Make no mistake who's the leader and who's the follower. Mind leads, you follow. Even when the mind comes along and says, conquer me, you go, okay. It's like a dog trying to push on its leash without getting ahead of the Master. Not a happening thing. People write books trying to understand. And they say beautiful things, but it doesn't go anywhere.

It's like having a garden that looks spectacular, but on close examination, every flower is made out of paper and every tree out of plastic. Now there are advantages to this garden. One, you ever have to water it. The grass is all astroturf, so you ever have to cut it. It looks like it forever, kind of. The disadvantage, flowers bloom. Spring never comes. Birds have no business being there. Bees never fly. No nectar is collected. And no flower has a beautiful aroma. The trees, they do not sway in the wind. And even though it all looks pretty, it is static, static as in dead, dead. That is why it is so important to have a living experience. Living, breathing, existing, feeling, thinking, understanding, knowing, that's what's real.

So I ask you, is your garden, what does it look like? Have you ever in your garden approached and tried to smell a flower? Have you in your garden ever seen a bee? Have you in your garden ever seen a bird? In your garden, do the trees sway when the wind comes? Is there a season? Is there a season? Are there, it looks fine, and you are content? People simply get used to being frustrated. That's it. People get used to being frustrated.

People get used to being mad, upset. People get used to living in ignorance. And 99% of people out there are there to accommodate, to facilitate this transition in your life. What is okay? Me being lost is okay? Me ignoring my own nature is okay? Me being away from myself is okay? Me not recognizing myself, is it okay? Oh no, it's okay, this is life. It happens. Good times, bad times, you know, that's kind of stuff. It's all okay. That's why every one of us needs clarity so desperately, to understand that there can be no compromises. That it needs to be clear. That an effort needs to be made every single day to be clear. To understand, to accept, to see, to feel what you and I have been given. From the heart. From our very basic being. Very, very basic. You know so many things. You have learned a lot of things. As you progress, in this life, invariably, a time will come, that most of those things that you know, will have little bearing in your life. One day, maybe all your life you flew, one day you won't be able to fly anymore.

FAL say no, you must retire, that's it. Or if you're a private pilot, you go to a doctor and say, you can't see, you can't hear, you shouldn't fly. Maybe you were an artist all your life, time will come, and you hold the brush. And the hand shakes too much to actually paint. Maybe you drove trucks all your life, time will come. When climbing up that step that you did hundreds of thousands of times in your life, without thinking twice, you will go… All that that you rely on, sure. But know that a time will come. Slowly, all that fades away, fades away, fades away, fades away, fades away, fades away, fades away. When all that fades away, what remains? You still remain. This. You must understand that you will still be there, able to experience. But now all those things that you experienced before will no longer plug into the same socket. ocket has changed. And whatever you thought so conveniently, well, yeah, I can do this, and I can do this, and I can do this, and I can do… I'm seeing this, you know.

When I first started off, I was always the youngest in the room. I mean, the youngest. In my family, I was the youngest. And when I started talking about Knowledge, I was the youngest. So all these people were there who were much older than I was. Well, they were pretty sharp. Everything was like, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, I am seeing, you know. They have a hard time seeing. With or without glasses. Put on their glasses and they go. Take off their glasses and they go. Some of them I see, they've stopped even trying. It's like, I can't see that. And do you know that this erosion, if you want to call it erosion, is afoot every second that you are alive. It just happens so slowly. You notice it. But it's afoot. I see in so many people, when they're young, their memories, if you were to scale their memories, they're not that many. Their hopes stretch out almost forever.

As they get over there, memories increase, hopes decrease. Till one day you find yourself at the very edge looking all back, nothing in the front, all back. I know I'm boring some of you young ones. That doesn't happen to me. It will. If you're lucky. And what is this, what you can see and can't see? It's like a snail. Snail doesn't see us. Because we move too fast. A fly, to a fly we move like snails. They see it coming. Like some of the flies, especially in India. And you're standing there and I'm going to get you. And they're like, slow poke. And you're going like, and they're just watching. And then they're like still there looking at you. About the time you come, they're gone. That's why sometimes all of a sudden you're looking at a fly and all of a sudden it's gone. Because the frame rate can't catch up with it. It's all relative. It's all relative.

When you're young, time goes by slowly. Remember when you used to be riding in a car? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? 15 minute car ride, are we there yet? Are we there yet? Then when you get to the other part of it, after 15 hours, boy that was quick. Man, a whole year has gone by. I can't believe it. Is it already New Year? I remember celebrating New Year like it was yesterday. These are the little nuances of life that you have created for yourself. Above it floats a beautiful reality that is timeless. That's the thing that I talk about. I'm not here to judge whether that is right or wrong to have more hope and more memories. Or more hope, less memories, less memories, more hope, or whatever combination you want to put together. Equal amounts of memory and hope, that would be good. But everything is forging on. Everything is forging on. Every day it forges on. Every second it forges on. Forges on. Forges on. Marches on.

Is that good news? Is that bad news? Wait a minute. go there. It's all good news. It's good news because you are alive. And until the day you are alive it is good news. Because you can go inside and feel that feeling. And feel that joy. That's what makes it good news. There is more hope. All your life all you have seen is a door. And you have measured yourself from one door. The day you came, you measure yourself from that door. The door you came through, the day you were born. That's one door. And the day hypothetically that you are going to go is another door. And everything is measured between those two doors. But there is another door. And that door is the door to you. Those two other doors that you measure everything, it's pointless to measure things against those two doors. Because there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot do anything about the fact that you were born.

You were born. That's it. It has started. And one day you will get close enough to the other door. It will go. And you will be gone. One swing. You have to push it. It's automated. Totally automated. As soon as you arrive. Elegantly, unelegantly it opens up. And everybody goes, what happened? And then all the drama, traumas begin. But not for you. People lament. Oh, he was a good guy. She was a good guy. Too late. Should have done that while you were alive. But then, even that's weird. Because I saw one guy, he realized he was going to die. So he had his living funeral. He was wearing a bow tie. And he had champagne in his hand, walking around. And all these guests had been invited. It was a living funeral. Everybody was saying goodbye to him. I was like, whoa. But there is another door. And this door, maybe you realize. But every opportunity that your heart gets. It knocks on this door. Open up. Feel, see, understand, realize, know. Be in that joy. Be in that feeling every moment. That's true wisdom. That's true understanding. That's true understanding.

And that's what the Master gives. And I came back from India. I had this massive attack. Every night. And this lasted almost three, four weeks. Every night. I would be talking to people. And saying these beautiful couplets. So I was like, better write those down. So I went and started writing them down. And then before you know, it's like 30, 40 couplets. I had written. That was really beautiful. And the other day I was reading them. I was like, hey, this is really good stuff. It's all in Hindi. Because I had just come from India, I guess. And then it lasted so long. And then it disappeared. And I reckoned it would. Because then I go back to India, it will probably come back.

But there's one that I will say. It's in Hindi. And there's some people who understand Hindi here. So maybe they can get a kick out of it. So "Ram diya, vapas liya. Khaali haath hazaar. Guru diya jo prem se, sada sang bahar." I'll translate it for you. "Whatever God gives, takes away. And thousands", that's the figure of speech, "thousands of hands are empty. But what the Master gives with love always remains with you like an eternal spring." Not eternal spring like a well, but spring. "Bahar." So in this life, understand the beauty of the possibility. I mean some of you are aspirants, maybe going through keys. Enjoy them. Enjoy them. Most incredible time. And those of you who have Knowledge, enjoy Knowledge. Most incredible time. It's not one over the other. A lot of people who have Knowledge go, "Oh it was really good." See, it's the same thing. Same thing they do. Hope, memories. And what have you been given? What have you been given? You've been given a lamp. You've been given a lamp whenever it is dark lighted.

And there will be no more darkness. That's what Knowledge is. Do you believe that? You can only believe it if you have felt it. If you have seen it. And I want you to see it. Because it works. Doesn't matter how dark it gets. And there is no storm that can take this lamp out. None. No storm. If you know how to light the lamp. You have to be afraid. You. Because you can have that lamp. When darkness comes, the point of Knowledge is not to make it where the darkness can never come. No, no, no. That's what people want. And the Master says, you can't do that. That won't happen. Storms will come. But you have to get affected. People want an umbrella so that when they open the umbrella, it stops raining. There is no umbrella like that. But there is an umbrella that when it rains, you can open it up and it will stop you from getting wet. stop the rain. It will stop you from getting wet. This umbrella exists. This umbrella is called Knowledge. This umbrella is called know-how. Know how to be in that joy.

Know how to be in that place. Know how to be in that clarity. It's not an accident. It's not an accident that when you sit down and you practice Knowledge, all of a sudden there is clarity. All of a sudden, you feel gratitude. You feel thankful. You feel thankful for your life. You feel thankful to be alive. Have your problems all gone away? No, no, no, no, no. Problems have not gone away. They're all there waiting in line. But somehow you're smiling back at them. Going, hmm. Something had made you so small. Something had worn you down and made you so small that everything else looked big. When you practice that Knowledge in earnest, you come to your real size and everything else falls in proportion. And what seemed insurmountable really wasn't that big. So you can go with your filter. Maybe. Maybe. But some of us need a reminder.

There's a lot of you sitting here. I remember your faces. You've had Knowledge for a really long time. Some of you are still enjoying it. And I want to remind you of how beautiful the ride has been and how beautiful it continues to be. So that's one reminder. Some of you… Some of you have had your difficult times and at times you have forgotten to light the lamp. I'm here to remind you no harm done. (scattered applause) Light the lamp whenever. wait.… There's no storm out there. By the time you finish saying it, it will be. And then what are you going to do? But light the lamp. The lamp of Knowledge in your life, all will be well inside. So that's a reminder to those. Some of you stopped practicing completely because you thought the world's gift is going to be better. And now, as you have traveled all the mile markers where all the gifts were supposed to be waiting for you and have found none, now you're starting to eye Knowledge again and going, well, hmm, it was pretty good. Because maybe whenever you allowed some uncertainty to come in. Uncertain. Uncertain about Knowledge, world, Knowledge, world. What do I pick? Do I pick Knowledge? Do I pick the world? I've got an analogy for you.

A person is drowning in the water. What should he pick? Water, land. Water, land. Water, land. You decide. You decide what it is. I mean, the world, is it going to go away? No. Remember one thing about the world. Remember this well. The world doesn't go away. You go away from the world. The world will be there. With all its fruits, all its torrents, all its promises, all its broken promises, you have to worry about the world. The world is being in clarity that you should be the issue for you. Being in that know-how should be the issue for you. That's what's important. Land, water, land, water, land. Hey, you really want to drown, you can always jump back in the water. Boat that can take you to the land may be a rare thing. Rare thing. So I go and I remind, and then there is of course there are aspirants here going through the Keys, whatever, and I want to remind you. Why are you going through the Keys? Because the first thing, before you can understand what Knowledge is, you have to be on solid foundations. Solid. Everything that it entails. The whole journey of preparing for Knowledge, I'll take you through it. I'll take you through it. That's what the Keys are.

There's a lot of people who already have Knowledge and have been going through Keys. Fine. There's a lot of people a lot of people who weren't involved with Knowledge for a long time and then they go, "Well, gee, you know, I want to do this again." So, you know, in the old days you would get a Knowledge Review. Nah it's not like that anymore. You want to get back with it? Go through the Keys. Take your time. Go through the Keys. Enjoy every one of them. Then you'll understand.

To make it in this world, you have to be committed. To make it in the world of Knowledge, you have to be committed. You always have an option. You didn't have to come here. You have to be here. You have to listen to me. You. You have to practice Knowledge. Coming from me? I know. I know. I know. There are no have-tos. In love there are no have-tos. In slavery, yes, there is all the have-tos. But in freedom, there are no have-tos. And that's how it is. You do. You want that clarity? It is possible. You want that experience of Knowledge? It is possible. And I'm here.

I'm here. It is just absolutely amazing because that's the nature of this message. This is the nature of the message. It's always been. Always been. And it does not look at people's religion. It does not look at people. That you are this, you are this, you are this. This is what we have forgotten. We have learned about humanity and forgotten everything about humanity. So we know all the buzzwords of what humanity is all about. But we have stopped to be human beings. When you are a human being, you look at another human being. You have to look at their religion. You have to look at their color. You have to look at how they speak and how they look or tall or short.

This is all we do. All day long. All day long. This is all we do. So yeah, this is wonderful. This is really wonderful that people can hear this message. Everywhere. I mean everywhere. Choose. Choose that light.